Peshna – the cave where the fantasy and reality collide

The cave Peshna has the biggest entrance in the Balkans! Located 6 km from Makedonski Brod on the regional road to Samokov it is one of the most attractive natural beauties of Macedonia.

Unfortunately, not many people know about it, even the Macedonians are still discovering it, so it is a hidden gem and an unexplored tourist destination, although it was proclaimed a natural heritage of Macedonia. It was our, me and my husband’s first visit to the cave, although it’s only 1,5 hours drive from our city. We were making plans for this visit for few months but there was always something we had to postpone. And now the moment to see this wonder of nature has come.

As we were approaching by driving and we saw the huge hole in the hill we were like OH MY GOD! We knew it was big but didn’t expect to be that huge. Before we went there, of course, we were exploring on the internet and we saw the photographies of the cave, but believe me, nothing can prepare you for what you will experience on the spot.We parked the car in front of the restaurant nearby and continue walking. It was enjoyable and exciting 10-15 minutes walk to the entrance. The road that leads to the cave is enclosed with trees and bushes and leads right to its incredibly huge entrance.As we were getting closer the sound of the river was getting stronger. This was probably the best period of the year to be there because there was a lot of water coming out of the cave making beautiful waterfalls. I knew there was suppose to be a small lake at the end of the cave, and listening to the water I was excited to see it. Unfortunately, it was gone. Probably the water has changed its path during the past years. The cave had been researched and what was discovered was not a bear in hibernation 🙂 , but it was a lake, two hundred meters underground. This lake has an endemic species of fish with skin that resembles the human skin, something that has been found in the inhabitants of Postojna Caves in Slovenia.

I expected the cave to be deeper and flat, at least it looked like that on the photographies, which was disappointing for a second. Then I saw how high it was and that I can explore the inside, climbing the steep ground, over the small and large rocks. There aren’t any stalactites on the ceiling of the cave, but I’m sure you will enjoy the wonderfully shaped rock. This natural masterpiece leaves you breathless with its magnitude, grandeur, and beauty. It is 30 meters high and about 70 meters deep. There are an endemic species of bats that are very important for the ecosystem, there is one of them in the next photograph! Oops, it’s my husband. We didn’t manage to see the bats, but there were many other birds, like pigeons in different colors. These huge rocks, that are over 2 meters high, are standing there for centuries. It was perfectly safe to move around, only if you go with small children maybe it’s not the best idea to let them around unattended. It was a real serenity for me. When we climbed high and we could see the whole shape of the entrance of the cave, like a giant eye looking at you. We simply seat and relaxed, letting our thoughts flow along the sounds of the running water. The ceiling and walls of the cave shine with amazing colors, from light green to deep purple. From a different angle, it looks completely different. I just couldn’t stop shooting, and it was difficult to choose which photographies to use for the post since all of them are special in some way.Sunlight reaches the far end of the cave so you will have no problem walking around it. To make the next photograph my husband had to climb on the remains of the huge walls.Peshna Cave in The New York Times was described as identical to the imaginary caves in “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The remains of the fortress built inside the cave, look like Helm’s Deep fortress in “Lord of the Rings’. The remains of walls inside the cave are connected to another site nearby, more with a story then by road 🙂 As you are driving toward the cave on the hills before the turn to the cave, you will notice the remains of a medieval fortress. According to the legend, King Marko had four sisters and he built homes to two of them in this area. One of the sisters was Deva and her house was here on the hill. You can still see some remains of the building at the top of the hill and if you like and have time enough you can hike to the top.For the other sister Peshna, King Marko build a home at the entrance of the cave. She was using the echo of the cave to communicate with her sister. Two villages in this area, Devic and Peshna, were named after the two sisters.The whole region boasts a pure, untouched nature where you can have a picnic by the Treska river which runs several hundred meters from the cave. There are the Peshna motel and its fish farm. Near the cave, there is a traditional restaurant “Dedo Ilija” where you can try traditional Macedonian dishes.It was an amazing experience and I do recommend it to everyone. Make Peshna Cave your next adventure!

My country is indeed bestowed by nature. Thank you for your time spent reading.

Wow
This is amazing cave and it’s surrounding looks so beautiful. It really reminds me of the cave of The Lord of the rings 😁
If I come in Macedonia I have to visit this place.
Great post, thank you for sharing.

This cave looks pretty cool! You also have a great picture collection. Myself and partner are heading to Macedonia this summer so this is really useful for us. We are totally going to plan a trip to this cave now! Thanks for the inspiration.

Hi there, you lovely people!
Welcome to my blog.
This is a place to find out more about my country Macedonia and the surrounding countries as tourist destinations and places for living, as well as other destinations I'm visiting and things from my everyday life.
Me? I just love to spend time with my family, enjoy traveling and taking photos. I'm crazy for shopping, a big animal lover and a chocolate and ice cream addict...
New in blogging with so much to shear. Love to show you all the beauties that I see in everyday life, hoping to intrigue you and leave a mark on this world ;)

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